Dehydrator Ideas

[Gator-mom]

Ok, so we bought this dehydrator like 5 years ago and I immediately became intimidated it and never even tried to use it..until now.  So far, I have made kale chips, tofu jerky and I plan to make some seitan and dehydrate that as well.    Anyway, I just wanted to know what else you guys have done.  I want ideas! 

Also, my dehydrator only has trays with holes in it.  Once upon a time I thought that I would make whole meals and dehydrate them as my own ready made backpacking meals.  Has anyone ever tried using these kinds of trays with parchment paper lining it and doing something liquid?

[SundayCrepes]

I wish I had a dehydrator. I'd use it for batch after batch of these gluten free almond flour crackers that taste like wheat thins:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/wheat-thins/

I've looked at dehydrators, but most of the plastic ones have BPA and I don't want that blown onto my food. I would love a stainless steel one, but they're pricey.

[Gator-mom]

Just thought I'd update and say that I have now finished both the dehydrated tofu and seitan.  Both turned out great!  My only sadness is that the tofu shrunk up so small after all that work marinating and cutting and WAITING for it to finish!  But it is delicious, none-the-less.  I guess it's time to peruse some blogs to get some more fun ideas :)

[StarCoveter]

I have a dehydrater too but have only done apples (some with skins, some without, some plain, some with cinnamon sprinkled on top), bananas, and strawberries.

Gator-Mom, do you think you can share your tofu jerky recipe?  Might be a nice protein snack for when I go to work.

[Gator-mom]

Well I don't really have a strict recipe for the jerky.  But my process is basically to either press the tofu really well or cook the tofu a little in the frying pan to get the water out.  Then I make a broth that is basically veggie broth, soy sauce or tamari, grated ginger, grated garlic, rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil and if you want some spice, you can add some hot sauce to it.  I go heavy on the broth and then add other ingredients until it tastes yummy to me.  I started out using a marinated tofu recipe from vegan w/ a vengeance, but have changed it up to my liking.  Adding the broth, I found make the marinade stretch further so I could do more at one time.  When I did my tofu jerky, I did about 4 lbs of tofu at once and then marinated it all at once as well in a big lasagna pan.  The dehydrating part too a really long time..probably around 20 hours?  I turned it off at night so it wouldn't get over-dehydrated while we were sleeping, but otherwise ran it all day, turning and rotating occasionally to keep it even. 

I also found both this and the seitan to be nice power-packed snacks that our whole family can grab and go :)